About the Artist

About Marlene Rosenberg Quintet

With a successful and diverse career spanning four decades, Marlene Rosenberg is one of the most talented and multi-faceted bassists on the scene today. Rosenberg has toured internationally with Joe Henderson, Nancy Wilson, and Joe Williams and performed with a virtual murderer’s row of top musicians, including Stan Getz, Ed Thigpen, Roy Hargrove, Terri Lyne Carrington and Wallace Roney, to name a few. Based in Chicago, Rosenberg plays regularly with her own ensemble MRQ. She has four albums, including most recently MLK Convergence, which was inspired by the social justice movement and represents a convergence of cultures, generations and gender, featuring pianist Kenny Barron, drummer Lewis Nash, as well as bassist Christian McBride. Marlene collaborates frequently with internationally-acclaimed tap dancers. As a frequently invited guest artist and clinician, she has adjudicated and taught master-classes at universities across the country as well as the International Society of Bassists.

About Juli Wood

Juli Wood is a playful and boisterous saxophonist who has been on the Chicago jazz scene for twenty-plus years. She is aptly described as “a gutsy tenor and baritone saxophonist who also sings with the earthy gusto of an R&B diva filtered through a hard bop sensibility,” Bill Milkowski, JAZZTIMES. Wood has led a variety of groups, including her recent project “Little Rootie Tootie,” interpreting the amazing compositions of Thelonius Monk as well as original tunes and lyrics to Monk tunes. She has played at jazz clubs and festivals around the world, including repeated residencies in Finland where she was recently awarded Performer of the Year by the Finlandia Foundation for her two CDs of Finnish folk tunes interpreted through jazz stylings. Juli in on faculty at the Music Institute of Chicago and has mentored young female instrumentalists through the Jazz Institute of Chicago’s Women’s Leadership Initiative program.